Category Archives: ammo

It’s a MatchKing® bullet actually introduced in October 2017 but is certainly being featured at the 2018 SHOT Show. The popularity of 6.5 cartridges like the Creedmoor, 6.5×47 Lapua and 6.5×284 in all its numerous iterations will insure the sales of a new match bullet for Sierra. At the time of this writing it appears Sierra is the only major bullet producer that offers a 150 grain bullet for the 6.5 bore. This bullet will be best suited for cartridges with more case capacity, the 6.5-06 or the 6.5-284 will probably utilize it best.

MatchKing 6.5mm 150 grain HPBT (#1755). Has a sleek 27 caliber elongated ogive and a final meplat reducing operation (pointing) to provide an increased ballistic coefficient (claiming over .700) for optimal wind resistance and velocity retention. To ensure precise bullet to bore alignment, a unique bearing surface to ogive junction uses the same 1.5 degree angle commonly found in many match rifle chamber throats. There is an interesting subject for a test; does matching the shape of the throat and bullet change the accuracy of any given bullet?

MatchKing® and Tipped MatchKing® bullets are not recommended for most hunting applications. Especially when we are talking about game animals of any size. Match bullets are designed for accuracy and bucking wind over long range, but they are not designed to reliably expand. Sierra makes GameKing® bullets for Hunters.

According to Sierra this bullet requires a barrel twist rate of 1 turn in 7.5” or faster.

I was working at the local community college with my associate Robart Schaefer. We teach a firearms technology course there. So naturally just about all conversations revolve around guns of one sort or another. Robart mentioned he had seen a lot of Internet chatter about the 7.5 FK BRNO. We had a good laugh when you brought up a post from a guy who asked if anyone had heard of the new company B_R_N_O? He apparently have never heard of the famous city in The Czech Republic that has been producing firearms for at least 100 years. Thus started a conversation with a lot of laughs that only a gun lover could appreciate.

First off, lets clear up some of the questions that pop to mind immediately.

Is this company related to other well known BRNO companies from the Czech Republic?

Answer: No. According to John Zent, Editorial Director for American Rifleman, this company has no connection the historical companies of the well known city of Brno in the Czech Republic.

2. What caliber is a 7.5 FK?

Answer: That would be a 30 caliber for the uninitiated to the Metric world of firearms.

3. What’s it look like?

Answer: A bottle-necked pistol cartridge.

Cartridge

Bullet Weight

Velocity (fps)

Energy (ft. lbs.)

5.7×28

40 gr.

1685

252

221 Fireball

40 gr.

3200

910

9mm Luger*

50 gr.

2000

454

460 S&W

200 gr.

2200

2150

30 Carbine

110 gr.

1990

967

7.62×25

85 gr.

1630

697

7.5 FK

100 gr.

2000

888

The first article about this cartridge that caught my attention was an American Rifleman story by John Zent titled, “Worlds Fastest Pistol– 7.5 FK Brno”. This was where Robert and I started kicking cartridges back and forth. 30 Carbine was the first cartridge that really came to mind as the AMT Automag III had long ago had this slot pretty well locked up, if velocity was the only measure.

So is it the Worlds Fastest? I guess you will have to break it down for yourself.

Most shooters will also look at bullet weight and therefore energy numbers to determine the true value of a cartridge. Available guns, ammo and their price ranges also enter into the discussion. Of course the inevitable question of revolver vs. semi-auto comes into play as well. For me the question of stopping power is a bigger concern if this is going to be a self defense gun.

In the buzz around the 7.5 FK BRNO pistol is a point that will limit the number of buyers for this gun. Prices in several articles have suggested that the gun will sell for around $5000. If that is the case the audience for this gun will be small.

It’s highly likely that custom pistol makers will offer guns with custom barrels in the 7.5 FK chambering. 4D Reamer Rentals LTD (our sponsor) has already ordered in the reamers and gauges for this cartridge.

30 Carbine vs. 7.5 FK

As of this writing the pistols and ammunition are supposed to be available from at least one U.S. retailer: https://luxuryfirearms.com/ They are holding the pricing pretty close to the vest, so most folks would infer that the high prices that have been reported in other articles are probably correct.

Yes, it’s on the way… How do we know? Click here. It’s pretty obvious. Well that and the fact that SAAMI has published the specifications already. The same print from SAAMI comments that a 32 grain bullet will go 4100 feet per second (fps).

Like the 22 Nosler the 20 is based on the 6.8 SPC case or 30 Remington depending on how you view it. They both have rebated rims so as to fit in a standard AR-15 Bolt face.

The 20 Nosler will have about eight (8) percent more case capacity by water weight than the 204 Ruger. So is the velocity claim of 4100 fps realistic? On Nosler’s own pages they show the 204 Ruger doing that velocity with the same bullet, so I would say, sure, it just means you will have short barrel life if you load to that level.

It’s long been know that velocities approaching 4000 fps are hard on barrels, the throat is erodes much more quickly regardless of the bullet diameter. I foresee the barrels for this caliber being chrome washed or Melonite® teated simply to increase barrel life.

The 20 Nosler might have some loading flexibility that the 204 does not in that if you loading for 3500 to 3800 fps there are probably a few more powders that will get there with the larger case capacity. One thing I noticed in looking for comparisons, the 20 Nosler falls in its own class in terms of case capacity, the 20 BR has just a couple of grains less capacity, but it’s not designed for the AR platform. The other popular wildcats in this general class either have a fair amount less capacity, or a lot more. If for no other reason, this cartridge will have a following just based on the case capacity.

There is certainly no doubt, this will be a flat shooting varmint cartridge that will do the job in the dog town or out taking coyotes.

Nosler™ is a trademark of Nosler Inc. Most likely Nosler will release this cartridge at SHOT Show 2018. Watch for updates here.

6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge)Hornady® introduced this new Short Magnum cartridge in the fall of 2017. Gone are the days when such announcements were limited to the SHOT Show.

Factory ammo offerings in both a “Match” version (with 147gr ELD) and a “Precision Hunter” version (with 143gr ELD-X bullet). You can bet that in the future, Hornady will offer 6.5 PRC brass separately for hand-loaders, but it takes time to fill the pipe line with ammo and meet the initial demand. 6.5 PRC brass is available right now from GA Precision at $86.00 per 100 cases. GA Precision’s George Gardner, who helped develop this cartridge, has posted: “It’s a non-rebated short mag based on a short RCM [Ruger Compact Magnum] case.” It has 3-4 grains less capacity than the 6.5 RSAUM, so, the difference in ballistics will likely be 30-50 fps deficit as compared with the RSAUM.

New 6.5 PRC is a short magnum that requires a magnum bolt face. It’s dubbed the “big brother” to the 6.5 Creedmoor, the 6.5 PRC fits in short or medium actions with a standard magnum bolt face (.532”). Much of the Creedmoor appeal is it’s ability to function in the AR-10 platform. The PRC will have non of that.

Ballistics charts from Hornady’s 6.5 PRC page shows a muzzle velocity of 2910 FPS. That’s not much better than a 6.5 Creedmoor (which can push 140s over 2800 fps), and the venerable 6.5-284 pushes similar bullets at about the same velocity as the new PRC. The 6.5-284 utilizes a standard bolt face and you can get Norma and Lapua brass for it. The PRC will work better than a 6.5-284 in a short-action magazine. An awful lot of 6.5-284 fans put them on 30-06 length actions so they can seat the bullets out — that may be what Hornady is thinking with the new cartridge…

It looks like this is an attempt to attract some of the PRS crowd and help Hornady visibility in that highly popular arena. Unfortunately for Hornady there is a trend among top PRS competitors toward smaller cartridge with less recoil. The benefits of less recoil are probably more important to those shooters than a flatter trajectory, which has a cost in both noise and recoil.

Reality is there is a market for everything, there will be some shooters who are very excited about this new offering. GA Precision, Gunwerks, PROOF Research, Stuteville Precision and Seekins Precision are among those already chambering for this cartridge. Truth be told, everything in the ballistic equation is a trade off. A flatter trajectory and shorter time of flight have value too.

6.5 PRC Ammunition for Hunters — Also New for 2018Hornady will also sell a version of 6.5 PRC ammo design for hunters, naturally that is about the bullet selection being appropriate for the application. After looking this cartridge over and where it fits in the market place, it might have been better for Hornady to partner with Ruger and call it the 6.5 RCM, since that’s really what it is. This cartridge seems a little like the reason that Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors… try to please everyone and by so doing sell more product.

Federal Premium® has announced introduction in time for the 2018 SHOT Show, a new cartridge designed to capture market in the popular MSR (Modern Sporting Rifle; Don’t you hate all these acronyms…) AR-15 platform. The cartridge is design to capture the hearts of long-range precision shooters. The 224 Valkyrie produces flat trajectories, and claims match-grade accuracy and supersonic velocities beyond 1,300 yards downrange.

“It beats the ballistics of all other MSR 15 cartridges, including the 22 Nosler, 223 Rem. and 6.5 Grendel. Plus, it offers comparable performance to larger rounds like the 6.5 Creedmoor, with roughly half the felt recoil—and at a more economical price,” explains Mike Holm, Federal Premium Centerfire Ammunition Global Product Lane. “The 224 Valkyrie is based on a 30 Rem./6.8 SPC case necked down to .224 caliber,”

Shooters can review the technical specifications for the new round once it is approved by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) which is expected in January at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. At that time, information such as chamber specifications and cartridge pressure standards, proof pressure range and barrel length/twist recommendations will be communicated. Cartridge and chamber drawings will also be available soon after SAAMI approves the cartridge for standardization.

Testing conducted by Federal Premium engineers using 24-inch test barrels with a 1:7 twist revealed the 224 Valkyrie offers up to 128 inches less drop and 69 inches less wind drift (with a 10 mph crosswind) at 1,000 yards than other MSR 15 rounds. The new cartridge also offers significant advantages in velocity and energy.

Federal created a new 90-grain .224-caliber Fusion bullet specifically designed for hunting deer sized game. In a test barrel the 90-grain Fusion exits the muzzle at 2,570 fps. This is going to be the thumper that P.O. Ackley pushed for 50 years ago. He stated back then that a “bullet of the CORRECT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION” was necessary for such cartridges. Such bullets have not really been available until recent years.

224 Valkyrie ammo dimensions estimated from reamer print.

Federal Premium engineers designed the 224 Valkyrie for gas-driven MSR 15 actions, bu it’s also extremely effective from bolt guns. “You can also buy a new upper and use it with your existing lower. A gunsmith or other person trained in building MSRs can also make the necessary modifications. The easiest way for shooters to capitalize on the new cartridge is purchase a firearm from one of the many gun makers jumping on the 224 Valkyrie bandwagon,” says Holm.

Reloading data will be available in spring of 2018, when SAAMI releases it’s specifications. Reloading die sets will be available from RCBS, and other ammo-building components will also be offered by several popular brands.

There are nearly 20 gun makers who have already started producing guns for the 224 Valkrie. So if your hoping to try one out, it should not be hard to locate a gun in your local store before long. 4D Reamer Rentals LTD has already bought reamers and gauges for this new cartridge, in stock even before SHOT Show.

One of the questions I have most often fielded from AGI students and prospective students over the last several years is; “When are you folks going to do a comprehensive reloading course?”

Well, the stars finally aligned and we convinced Fred Zeglin to take the few weeks he had off between the courses he was instructing and his latest writing projects to use his impressive knowledge of reloading and cartridge design to teach this course.

Fred has an extensive background as a professional custom gunsmith, cartridge designer, and author. His books Wildcat Cartridges, Hawk Cartridges, and his AGI instructional video course, Taming the Wildcat are well worth studying by students of the subjects.

This new course is almost eight full hours of the information any reloader needs to know. As he says in the introduction, “There is something for everyone here. If you’ve never handloaded, everything you need to know to assemble safe, effective handloads is here. If you’ve loaded for years, odds are you will still find out things you never knew, considered, or completely understood.” Let’s take a look at what’s actually under the hood . . .

Disk 1 – Brief History of Reloading: This is no exhaustive history of every step in the evolution of loading firearms and cartridges, but rather a concise explanation of how we got to what we actually do today.
Reloading Components: Here Fred shows the various types of cartridge cases, bullets, primers, and powders. He explains their differences and the reasons why those differences exist. Why are spritzer bullets pointed?
Why are some powders shaped like little rods?
Ignition Theory: What happens from the moment the firing pin strikes the primer to the exit of the bullet from the barrel is carefully explained and shown in drawings.
Pressure Curves: A PressureTrace Internal Ballistics System is used to show the real-time gas pressure rise and fall from primer ignition until the bullet leaves the barrel, approximately 1.5 milliseconds. Fred draws curves
which demonstrate what the pressure curves would look like in the Fred Zeglin, Cartridge Designer
case of a dramatic overload, high pressure caused by an over-length case, and powder detonation which can
occur if a very small charge of slow burning powder is used in a large case.
Resource Books: Fred explains why the Cartridge Comparison Guide belongs in your library as well as other books
that give you information on a huge number of cartridge’s dimensions, shapes, ballistics, and terminal performance. The reference books discussed will help you decide what cartridge you might want in your next gun.
Reloading Manuals: Reloading without these “must have” sources is like driving with your eyes shut, a real recipe for disaster. You need more than one so you can cross reference loading data to make sure the load you are
contemplating is safe.

Disk 2 – Developing a load plan: What IS a loading plan and why do you need one? Have you
decided what the load you’re thinking about creating is supposed to accomplish? Do you have a purpose for loading it? What is it? Is it reasonable?

Selecting correct components for your load plan.

He explains to you why you shouldn’t be “That guy” who just searches for the hottest published load for his cartridge and doesn’t “Waste time” with Starting Loads. “Hey, if it’s published it’s safe, right? These guys always leave a safety
margin, right?” Why you need to keep a complete notebook recording loads, velocity, accuracy, etc.
The Bench: Where should it be, how should it be constructed, how sturdy does it have to be, how high should it be, and why. Press and Die Set-up: Learn how to properly set up the dies, shell holders, and decapping pins from a two die set in your press.

Prepping the Brass: Cleaning, Reaming Inspection: Why you need to clean and inspect your brass, chamfer ream the case mouth and clean out the primer pockets.

PressureTrace Internal Ballistics System
What’s in a “Complete loading kit?” Fred opens a big box from Hornady that contains everything you need to load quality ammo, other than cases, primers, bullets, and powder. Why these make sense for the beginner.

Lubrication: Fred shows you several different methods and products to lubricate the cases prior to resizing, and
why you need to do it.
Full-Length Sizing Dies vs Neck Sizing Dies: Ever wonder what the hoopla about neck sizing from accuracy buffs is all
about? Fred explains why you might want to do it, what makes you able to do it continuously with some cases, why you’ll have to eventually full-length size, and how to avoid “Over-sizing.” Do you know what guns you should not only
never neck-size for, and moreover why you’ll need a “Small base” die? What IS a small base die?
Sizing the Cases: By this time, you will be all set to make those cases like new again.
Priming the Cases: Fred shows you four different priming methods, and why some are better than others in his opinion.
Measuring the powder: Several different scales are shown and how to set them up. After that Fred dips, throws, trickles, weighs, and finally stands and watches a machine do it all.

Disk 3 – Charging Cases: Now we actually begin to load cartridges. Attach the powder measure to the press, verify it is throwing the correct weight, adjust the die so the case is just partially re-sized, and dump the powder into the case. Watch Fred set-up the bullet seating die for no crimp, set the bullet on the top of the case and feed it into the die, adjust its seating depth, and . . . voila!! A real live reloaded round of ammunition made by your very own self.
Seating Bullets with a Crimp: Here you will learn how to set the seating die so it will crimp the case mouth into the bullet’s cannelure just as the bullet reaches the correct depth, and why and when you sometimes need to do this.
Using the Lee Loader: Robart Schaefer demonstrates the use of the basic Lee Loader. Many of we “Senior” reloaders started with one of these tools. It gives you everything you need to load one caliber of good quality ammo for ~ $28. Just supply brass, bullets, primers, and powder. The box holding the tools will fit in the back pocket of your jeans, assuming you don’t fill them as full as some of us.
Fred at the bench demonstrating proper die set up
Next up is Robart Schaefer again, this time with the Lee Hand Press. This is basically a bench type press that
you can use sitting in your La-Z-Boy while watching football. And I have. While it won’t full length resize large
cases, it will do everything else. I probably used it more than anything else with a Lee decapping die, got
my youngest to do a bunch too, and then primed those cases with a Lee Auto Prime. Yep, thousands of them. Got them both for under $50 more than a couple of years ago.
Reloading Cartridges with a Three Die Set-up: Fred explains the use of three die sets. The third die is used to bell the mouth of straight wall cases and pour the powder charge through into the case.
Annealing Brass: Working (sizing) makes it hard and susceptible to cracking. Heating it softens it again and allows more loadings. Fred shows how to do this and gives several alternatives and cautions.
Case Trimming: Here’s where you learn how to trim those over length cases back to the correct size with a couple of different tools and ways of measuring.
Additional Case Prep Procedures: Learn about vibrating, tumbling, and ultra-sonic case cleaners. Learn how and why we uniform primer pockets and flash holes.
Reloading Cartridges Using a Progressive Press: Fred demonstrates a progressive loading press, and describes what happens, and how, at each station.
Disk 4 – Tools and Accessories: Fred wraps up the cartridge reloading portion with a “Show and Tell” of some specialty tools that will make your reloading easier. Shown are extended shell holders to ease the loading of really short cases, a competition shell holder set whose heights vary by .002 inches to allow you to set the exact amount of case sizing you want, powder measure baffle and drop tube, and neck lubers for neck sizing. Specialty dies include neck sizing dies with interchangeable bushings to adjust neck tension, Lee Factory Crimp dies, in-line feeding and micrometer seating
dies, and bullet pulling dies. An impact bullet puller is demonstrated as well.

Bullet Casting: Robart tells us why we should consider casting our own lead bullets and shows what tools and equipment are needed for the process.

Lead: What kinds of lead alloys are needed, where to scrounge what you need, or buy it pure or ready alloyed
if all else fails. The characteristics of the various alloys are discussed and their uses explained.
Pouring Ingots: How and where to heat your lead safely, why and how to flux, and cleaning the dross off the top. It’s kind of cool to see the steel wheel weight clips floating on top of the lead. How to pour the cleaned and alloyed lead into
smaller, easily handled ingots . . . into what looks like corn cob shapes in a jello mold. Why you can never have water around hot lead.
Casting Bullets: Now we get down to actually pouring lead into the molds. How to tell by looking at the bullets whether the lead, mold, or ladle is too hot or cold. He pours from a ladle into the top of single and double molds, and from the bottom into a six bullet mold.
Testing Hardness: Here is a tool the tests the Brinell hardness of the cast bullets and explains how you can determine how hard they have to be based on the chamber pressure of the cartridge they are going to be fired from.
Sizing and Lubing Bullets: Why cast bullets need to be sized and lubed after casting, and how it’s done. What to use for bullet lubes is a choice made based on the bullet’s expected velocity The Lube Sizer Press: This press has a heating
element that heats the lube before it deposits in the lube grooves, seats a gas check, and sizes the bullet, all in one
smooth stroke of the handle.

Final Thoughts on Bullet Casting: Robart wraps up his discussion of bullet casting with a reiteration of why it’s a cool thing to do, and repeats the cautions earlier expressed. Have fun and be safe!

Epilogue: Fred closes by showing a bullet neck concentricity gauge and explains what it tells you and why it is important as a lead-in to a discussion of why learning even more advanced techniques can improve your abilities as a reloader and shooter. If you have never reloaded a single cartridge, you can do so with success and confidence after watching this video course. You will also be able to make informed choices on what tools and equipment will fit your needs and budget.

And what to my wundering eyes did appear, the 28 Nosler. That’s right Nosler is adding to their line-up. The 28 and 26 Nosler utilize the same headspace gauges.

Talking to Mike Lake, who did the design work on these cartridges for Nosler, he stated that everything from 26 to 9.3mm have been registered and approved by SAAMI. For now, Nosler is only bringing the 28 Nosler to market.

When asked why Nosler took all the designs to SAMMI now Mike said, “We were aware of the wildcats that have appeared on the 26 Nosler case. So, it just made sense for us to get the dimensions for all the calibers completed and registered with SAAMI.”

The 28 Nosler according to Nosler’s new catalog will push a 160 grain bullet at 3300 feet per second (fps). A 175 grain bullet will launch at 3125 fps. In case you were wondering that is faster than the 7mm RUM with less powder. How is that possible? Pretty simple really, the 7mm RUM is very over bore, in other words it has too much case capacity for the 7mm bore.

Last years introduction of the 26 Nosler was met with great enthusiasm by shooters. There is every reason to believe that even more shooters will like the 28 Nosler, 7mm cartridges in general are more popular the 6.5mm in the U.S. Look for this to be a much discussed cartridge in 2015.

I talked to Pacific Tool & Gauge and 4D Reamer Rentals LTD. PTG says the 28 is in production already and 4D placed an order for it as soon as the cartridge was announced. 4D also ordered reamers for all the Nosler designs registered with SAAMI.

Here is a sad fact about emergency situations: Without extensive daily training chance are your initial reaction will be less than perfect. In the case of life threatening situations, because of fear, panic, or adrenalin, 93 percent of first shots fired miss the intended target. This is easy to understand.

In the best of circumstances we all have a slight twitch when firing a gun. The best marksman learn to minimize the flinch or twitch. For instance, if your twitch puts you just 2 degrees off target at 20 feet you will be 9.1 inches off your intended point of aim. Obviously that is enough to cause a miss.

These facts caused the folks at Multiple Impact Bullets to invent a bullet that makes if for more likely a first shot will hit the target. A bullet enhanced with Multiple Impact™ Technology (a prior-to-impact expansion technology) is designed to compensate for most if not all of the typical marksman’s error caused by Last Second Twitch.

The new design divides a single projectile into 3 interconnected segments that will spread to a predetermined orientation and finite diameter when fired. Once deployed, the segments of the proprietary Wide Envelopment Bullet™ (W.E.B™) are tethered together (like a spider web), to offer the shooter a much wider impact zone, reducing the occurrence of missed shots and thereby reducing the risk of collateral damage. (A standard .45 cal slug is .452 inches in diameter and remains that way until it collides with something, where as a T3™ round of the same caliber can be made to expand (instantly upon leaving the barrel) to a predetermined diameter (range 6 “ to 16 “ or greater).

This one of a kind Accelerated Radial Spread™ makes possible a wide spread pattern that ensures a high hit probability for each and every shot, resulting in unprecedented accuracy/hit probability, ensuring the shooter a greater tactical advantage.

26 Nosler is a new cartridge design, it actually fills a niche in the factory cartridge world. Between the WSM cartridges and the RUM cartridges, the first being short action, the latter being full length magnum. So the 26 Nosler is in between.

This may not sound like a big deal but it was a very good idea for a 6.5mm Magnum. When the 7mm or 300 Remington Ultra Mag is necked to 6.5mm it’s not very satisfactory. The case capacity is far overbore for the 6.5mm bore, so accuracy suffers and finding a good load is difficult.

By reducing case capacity as Nosler has done with this new design they have brought the balance between bore and capacity back into a range where load development is easier and barrel life will be better than with the full length RUM wildcat such as the 6.5MM UltraCat originated by Z-Hat Custom back in 1999.

Designed with a maximum cartridge O.A.L. of 3.340”, the 26 Nosler cartridge functions in a standard length magnum action with a 3.400″ magazine box. It is very similar in length to a 300 Winchester magnum case. This equates to a shorter bolt through and lighter weight gun than with the full length magnums like the 300 H&H or 7mm RUM.

The 26 Nosler is capable of pushing a 130gr bullet at a Muzzle Velocity of 3400 fps according to Nosler. With that kind of velocity bullets must be made for the extra stress that velocity will bring to the jacket. No disrespect to Nosler but this is a job for a NorthFork Bullet if I ever saw one.

The 26 Nosler is a non-belted, 6.5mm centerfire rifle cartridge. With a useable case capacity of 93 grains of water, the 26 Nosler is speedy, it outperforms the 264 Win Mag by over 200 fps with a 130 gr bullet. Loaded with the 129gr AccuBond-LR, the 26 Nosler retains as much velocity at 400 yards as the 260 Remington produces at the muzzle.

Zeroed at 350 yards, the 26 Nosler has a maximum point blank range (PBR) of 415 yards. It appears from the chart at the right that Nosler is figuring 5 inches +or- form zero to get to that 415 yard point blank range.

Nosler’s choice of a 6.5mm cartridge is a good one, sectional density and high ballistic coefficients make 6.5mm a good bet. Retained energy and accuracy at long range is always good with a 6.5mm. This will be a good cartridge for wide open western hunting for deer class animals. Thumbs Up!

Found this little goodie at Media Day for Shot Show. You might imagine seeing the Sharps name that has always been associated with single shots and then seeing nothing but AR-15 rifles in the booth. I took a double take… which is probably what they were hoping for all the writers that visited the event.

Having been in the gun business for so many years I have seen the rebirth of many company names. Some have been successful and others have quickly died away. No telling what will happen with this new company. Sharps Rifle Company (SRC) is one of several brands, (five at present) under the one roof.

Turns out the item of interest was the 25-45 SRC cartridge. This is the most recent iteration of a wildcat most commonly known as a 25/223 Remington. Another well known variation came out in 1987 as the 25 TCU (Thompson Center Ugalde). The TCU version was designed for metalic silhouette competition. Of course that cartridge was intended for use in a 14″ barrel from a Contender pistol. While they are not interchangeable the two cartridges are very similar. Ahh, what’s old is new again. I sense a theme here.

65 Grain Rapid Expansion Varmint is advertised at 3300 feet per second from a 20″ barrel.

87 Grain soft point or FMJ loads are advertised at 3000 feet per second also from a 20″ barrel.

Of course, headstamped brass and commercially loaded ammo is always a selling point and SRC is offering just that. For more information on the brands and products associated with SRC click here.